Get Ready For the Nerdlympics

jfruhlinger writes "In the upcoming Olympics, competitors will take part in the 'modern' pentathlon, designed in 1912 to simulate the skills a cavalry officer would need when trapped behind enemy lines. ITworld.com has developed a new set of competitions — untangling cables! code obfuscation! — that are a bit more relevant to the modern geek." Don't be too smug, though: Naturalist points out a story indicating that "Exercisers learn faster, remember more, think clearer and bounce back more easily from brain injuries such as a stroke."

Comments

Now thats the shit

[unity100]

thats the kind of shit that i would be interested in watching !! running a straight line ? well i can do that myself, even if i cant do 100 m under 9 seconds. but untangling a mess ? now that is a watch for any time of day !

Re:Now thats the shit

[eugene ts wong]

I don't know if you're trying to be funny or not.

How does anybody verify that 2 messes are equally messy? What if 1 mess is stiffer and harder to untangle, even though it's not as confusing? I think that we've all seen knots that were really tight, but simply knotted.

If this is all just for fun, then it's no big deal.

Re:Now thats the shit

[Red Flayer]

How does anybody verify that 2 messes are equally messy?

Simple. Make the messes using identical cables, following the exact same steps. Since it's geeklympics, how about building a robot to uniformly tangle cables? Every mess of cable can be exactly the same (well, to the degree of the manufacturing tolerances of the cables). Program a new mess algorithm for each of the heats, and for the finals.

What if 1 mess is stiffer and harder to untangle

I'm not sure what olypmics you're watching, but I like the way you think.

Re:Now thats the shit

[Chris Burkhardt]

> even if i cant do 100 m under 9 seconds.

Nobody can.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/100_metres#Fastest_100_metres_runners

Re:Now thats the shit

[Mike610544]

I would compete in the untangling cables event on the condition that there were no Cat 5 cables involved. Whoever thought it was a good idea to put that damn reverse facing tab on those should be beaten severely.

Code obfuscation?

[Anonymous Coward]

I wouldn't think code obfuscation is a useful skill under any circumstances. I'd think it would be always detriment. Rather, a useful skill would be code de-obfuscation.

Insultolympics

[CopaceticOpus]

Gee, great, because you know most geeks only love computers and don't have diverse interests.

This is a dumb article written solely for the purpose of generating traffic, and by getting on /. they've succeeded in spades.

Re:Insultolympics

[reset_button]

You're assuming that getting on Slashdot generates traffic for them, but we all know that nobody RTFA.

Re:Insultolympics

[CaptainPatent]

Gee, great, because you know most geeks only love computers and don't have diverse interests.

Your statement confuses me. You state a known fact but seem to do it with a sarcastic tone!

Are you saying there's something more to life than dual booting?

Re:Insultolympics

[4D6963]

Gee, great, because you know most geeks only love computers and don't have diverse interests.

What.. what the hell are you doing? You can't just go around talking about how people are not all just the stereotype attributed to the category they fall into! What's the matter with you? That's more anti-American than eating a snail kebab while reading Oscar Wilde! Of course geeks only care about technology and science fiction, hate sports, get abused by "jocks" and can't get with a girl! Don't you ever watch The Big Bang Theory and such shows? That's how geeks are on TV, and TV *is* to an important extent our perception of reality.

What sort of drivel is to be expected from you next? Are you going to tell us that "jocks" aren't all just a bunch of buffy and cruel idiots with complexes who only enjoy football, locking "geeks" into lockers and dating cheerleaders, bound to become unemployed drunken failures by their 30's?

Re:Insultolympics

[snoyberg]

Triple booting?

Re:Insultolympics

[Red Flayer]

Ah, the Slashdot paradox:

The hordes of Slashdot can bring a webserver to its knees even though no Slashdotter actually views the webpage.

Re:Insultolympics

[Anonymous Coward]

I don't read the articles. I just click the links.

Re:Insultolympics

[Anonymous Coward]

This is a dumb article written solely for the purpose of generating traffic...

The nerve! How dare these commercial online publications print articles for the purpose of drawing traffic to their site in order to generate ad revenue? It's just simply beyond the pale! Somebody should write their Congressman and get a law passed banning this egregious, naked attempt to provide a service in exchange for monetary compensation!

Re:Insultolympics

[bsDaemon]

Perhaps one that can tell you the difference between "then" and "than" might make a good investment.

Re:Insultolympics

[SQLGuru]

Other nerd interests not represented by this article (and a good list for a true decathalon):

1) Star Wars
2) Star Trek
3) Arguing about which is better, 1 or 2
4) Comic books
5) Cosplay
6) Role Playing / LARPing
7) Robotics / Legos / anything from MAKE or 2600
8) Quoting Python/South Park/etc.
9) Anime
10) Computers

You could pick random events from each category every year.....no two decatalons would be the same.

Layne

Re:Insultolympics

[xaxa]

The answer is obvious: There's those on Slashdot who use their eyes, and those who use their mouths. The two don't intersect.

You type with your tongue?

Re:Insultolympics

[Joe Tie.]

I hate the implication that geeks don't work out. I'm in far better shape than any of the sports nuts I know. We're geeks, we like crunching numbers and living by a set schedule. We excel in the very things that makes it hard for most people to stay in shape.

Re:Insultolympics

[Jimmy_B]

There are two types of Slashdotter: Those who read the article, and those who comment on the story. These groups do not overlap.

Re:Insultolympics

[AP31R0N]

If there was something called the Cheflympics and it was a series of cooking contests would that be insulting? Are the x games insulting to skateboarders? You know, i bet Tony Hawk has other interests besides catching wicked air. So?

Sure geeks and nerds are a diverse lot, like ANY OTHER GROUP YOU COULD NAME. But this isn't about what makes them different, but rather about what they have in common (and poking a little fun at it).

A website trying to get traffic and generate revenue through their sponsors? That unpossible! Imagine if other sites start doing this. What would happen if Fark starting linking to controversial articles to generate hits? Next thing you know, /. will start posting links to things that nerds find interesting in the cynical hope to get more members, donors and sponsors! Playboy will have pictures of young, heavy breasted women to entice lonely males to buy a magazine full of ads....

Is today "Take Things Too Seriously Day"?

Re:Insultolympics

[caluml]

As most of us are in a rush to post something insightful or funny, we don't take the time to wade through 9 pages of ads to RTFA, we just read the summary (sometimes) and post.

Perhaps there should be no commenting for 5/10/15/20/30 minutes after a story is posted. That would mean people "might as well" RTFA, and I think we'd get more comments, that were longer, better thought out, and more insightful/interesting.

Re:Insultolympics

[Mistshadow2k4]

You type with your tongue?

And if so, what are you doing Saturday night?

Re:Insultolympics

[jahudabudy]

3) Arguing about which is better, 1 or 2

I have to admit I spent an embarrassing amount of time trying figure our why nerds would argue over which integer is better. Then I reread the list...

p.s. I'm torn between pride and shame that I managed to generate theoretical arguments in support of either side of the imaginary 1 vs. 2 debate

Re:Insultolympics

[try_anything]

I don't think any nerds interested in losing their virginity would subject themselves to the indignity of the Nerdlympics. Instead, they would compete in the Apple "Relevant Hipster Creators of Tomorrow's Pop Culture"-lympics, which consist of blogging, tweeting, and moodily tossing one's floppy hair out of one's eyes.

is it just me...

[CaptainNerdCave]

or does there seem to be a pretty aggressive push to make "nerd" and "geek" into "cool"?

in a land where ignorance and laziness are applauded (nascar, etc), is this an attempt to make learning and knowledge "popular"?

Re:is it just me...

[Otter]

in a land where ignorance and laziness are applauded (nascar, etc)...

Can't you F1 dweebs ever give it a rest? (Incidentally, working with network cables is something a chimp can be taught to do. It's hardly "learning and knowledge".)

Re:is it just me...

[DerekLyons]

in a land where ignorance and laziness are applauded (nascar, etc), is this an attempt to make learning and knowledge "popular"?

Someone who doesn't bother to properly capitalize and seemingly prefers bias and stereotyping himself... shouldn't complain about ignorance and laziness being applauded.

Re:is it just me...

[Otter]

As I posted that, I realized it's obviously wrong: if you have to teach the chimp, I suppose it is in fact "learning and knowledge".

Re:is it just me...

[Neil Watson]

A NASCAR driver, or any race car driver, is a combination of an engineer, and an athlete. Hardly ignorant or lazy.

Re:is it just me...

[Mistshadow2k4]

And driving in a circle 300 times involves a steep learning curve?

Doing so at extremely high speeds in a car built with only speed in mind is a bit more difficult than you seem to think. If you don't believe me, try it.

Need more evidence

[sakdoctor]

I demand more evidence before I start exercising. I keep reading about all the positive benefits for the brain, but from observation of jocks, what I actually see is negative correlation.

Re:Need more evidence

[icegreentea]

Then don't observe 'jocks'. Observe athletic people, or at least try to find some smart people who exercise. Jocks and 'athletic' are not the same. In any case, if improving your brain is the only reason you would exercise, you probably wouldn't enjoy it that much anyways.

"think clearer"?

[jdgeorge]

"Exercisers learn faster, remember more, think clearer and bounce back more easily from brain injuries such as a stroke."

Hmmm.... Think "more clearly", perhaps?

I must infer that the author is a non-exerciser.

Re:"think clearer"?

[courteaudotbiz]

I must infer that the author is a non-exerciser.

No, from TFA, he must be just pushing iron...

Re:"think clearer"?

[eugene ts wong]

Hi. :^)

definition: clearer

Hmmm.... Think "clearer", perhaps?

I must infer that you are dictionary-non-user. ;^P

Other events

[Enderandrew]

Obfuscating how you're slacking off
Convincing suits that you really need that Alienware
Switching people to Linux without them realizing it

Excercisers?

[Anonymous Coward]

That sounds like a load of rubbish. I'm just as quick as a 700lb antelope. I mean, just this morning, I was doing something... and then it was done. And yeah, stuff. Who am I? What am I doing here?

New Competitions

[Quartz25]

ITworld.com has developed a new set of competitions â" untangling cables! writing Perl!

There. Fixed it for you.

Re:New Competitions

[$RANDOMLUSER]

untangling Perl! writing cables!

There. Fixed it for you.

Re:Rube Goldberg Code?

[D Ninja]

I may now be a nerd "once removed" due to my current occupation

Slashdotters! We have a manager in our midst! Attack!

Scoring?

[halcyon1234]

Interesting games, but what about their scoring? Are they going to follow suite with the Olympics, and exclude the ability to score a perfect 1010?

Re:Rube Goldberg Code?

[Dripdry]

I prefer the term "Workplace Efficiency Monitor" thank you very much.

"insensitive clod" was unavailable at the time of this post.

Nerdlympics you say?

[brunokummel]

I would say Computerlympics at most...
Even though I'm a computer graduate, I feel kind of bad for all the geeks from the other areas that got neglected by this so called nerdlympics ...
What about the math geeks? physics majors? chemistry? grammar-nazis? biology? star trek?

Pointless

[kenp2002]

It is a telling sign of the time when a people elevate the useless trapping of sedentary life in an attempt at parity with the advancement and conditioning of the human body to a state of near perfection.

Have we lost the passion for self improvement somewhere in the fields of snack food and talk shows?

"To all things I see bent knees to man's greatness as man discards the human gifts and flaws for the cold comfort of a life spent as a machine..."

Exercise? Bah.

[192939495969798999]

I've had 8 strokes, and I haven't potato any of my mental sharpness.

Hacks

[JCSoRocks]

People think doping in the real olympics is bad... Just wait until they see hacks during the nerdlympics! Speed hacks, aim bots, wall hacks... It'll be awful.